End Of NHL Lockout Could Impact Whale

Many teams benefited from having young players on their roster who might have otherwise been playing in the NHL. The NHL back, so rosters throughout the AHL could be depleted.

In Hartford, the Whale did not have a heavy influx of definitive NHL players. Chris Kreider was viewed as an NHL player after his run with the Rangers in the playoffs, but he has struggled with the Whale and hasn't been as producted as expected.

Last week, Whale coach Ken Gernander said Kreider's performance was really part of his development. He left Boston College in the spring and is still honing his skills, despite what fans saw in the NHL playoffs.

"Listen, it's still relatively young in his development," Gernander said. "He made a blg splash in New York because he's a kid with excellent physical tools ... his size, his skating,his shot, all those things. But it's hard to say that you can skip steps in your development. He's going through the process. He's got to pick up a certain understanding of our situational play and some of the nuances of being a professional hockey player in general. He's going through a growth process."

"A lot of this is about expectation.If he's a kid coming out of Boston College [to the AHL], where would the expectation be? But given the run that he had through the playoffs with New York, the expecation and the bar has changed. And I don't know if that's fair or unfair to the kid."

Kreider could still wind up in New York, unless the Rangers' hierarchy believe he'll benefit more by playing in the AHL. There are other veterans on the Whale roster who could bid for a spot with the Rangers, including defenseman Matt Gilroy, who has 194 NHL games under his belt.

With a shortened season, the Rangers and other NHL teams will likely use a roster of reliable, experienced players. No time for developing players, it would seem.

How that affects prospects such as J.T. Miller is unknown, but it's hard to see him jumping to the NHL immediately. Down the road, perhaps.

Then there are veterans such as Kris Newbury, Micheal Haley and Brandon Segal, guys who have been around the AHL and have logged some NHL time. Given the likelihood for injuries during a shortened season -- and training camp -- those players could get the call because they've been playing competitively.

Stay tuned, because the AHL will have a different look in the coming weeks.